Ali Gazi

Ali I (‘Alī bin Dunama ), called Ali Gaji, was mai (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the late 15th and early 16th century, ruling approximately 1470–1503. (Different king lists (girgams) and chronicles translated in the 19th–20th centuries give Ali different regnal lengths: 27 years (Nachtigal, Palmer), 28 years (Landeroin), 33 years (Barth), or 34 years (Urvoy).) As a result of this, and due to different calculations for other mais, various dates have been given for his reign, including 1472–1504 (Barth), 1476–1503 (Palmer), 1473–1507 (Urvoy), 1437–1465 (Landeroin), and 1465–1492 (Nachtigal). and Bosworth dated Ali's reign to 1470–1503. and sometimes as Gajideni If Arabic, Ghājī may be derived from al-ghazi and mean "the conqueror". He is also called Ali Dunamami after his father, mai Dunama V Ahmad. which had forced mai Umar I Idrismi to re-center the empire in the region of Bornu, west of Lake Chad.

Ali was a descendant of Idris I. All remaining Dawudids and their supporters were banished from imperial territory. and as marking the start of the second era of the Kanem–Bornu Empire. In the aftermath of the long civil wars, Ali instigated vital governmental reforms. Previously overly powerful titleholders such as the kaigama (chief general) had their power reduced. A new policy was enacted that the empire's major fief holders were to be stationed in the capital and rule their fiefs through representatives, placing the most prominent nobles in the empire under the strict supervision of the imperial court. To centralise the administration, Ali founded the large capital of Ngazargamu, situated on the southern bank of the Komadugu Yobe River, near the border of modern-day Nigeria and Niger. This capital remained the focal point of power for the empire's rulers for three and a half centuries, until it was destroyed during the Fula jihads in the 19th century.

Ali was a powerful warrior-king and engaged in several military campaigns, including confrontations with Kwararafa in the south, and the extraction of tribute from a number of Hausa states in the west, including Kano, the commercial centre of the region. Furthermore, he expanded the empire northward into Borku and Tibesti and regained control over the northern desert trade routes. There was also heavy fighting with the Bilala of Kanem in Ali's reign. Although some accounts attribute victory in these conflicts to Ali, neither side appears to have achieved any significant territorial gains.

Bornu gained notable prestige under Ali's rule. The Arab traveller Leo Africanus underscored the significance of Bornu in trans-Saharan trade during Ali's reign. This period marked Bornu's first appearances on European maps of Africa, produced by Portuguese cartographers in the late 15th-century.

Ali ruled for over twenty years, perhaps for over thirty. He died at Ngazargamu and was succeeded as mai'' by his son Idris III Katagarmabe.